


My Shining Star

by glowing_chkcurry



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Anxiety, Bottom Cloud, Hurt/Comfort, KPop AU, M/M, Self Harm, kpop, kpop idol cloud, photographer zack, possible slowburn, smut in later chapters, tags will be updated as I go, top Zack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:41:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28144752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glowing_chkcurry/pseuds/glowing_chkcurry
Summary: Cloud has recently started his solo career as a kpop idol. 2yrs in and he starts to feel the pressure of it all, as toxic thoughts start to swarm his mind. He tries to push through it, but sometimes things don't go the way he wants them to.He then meets Zack, a new photographer at the agency. Their relationship starts with them working together, but over time, it deepens into something they never imagined...Just a fun little AU because I'm drowning in kpop hell
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 10
Kudos: 15





	My Shining Star

**Author's Note:**

> Welp here is a kpop au for you all cuz I frickin love kpop. Any kpop fans out there? Some of you may recognize the group names, but I slightly changed them iin a way lol. Anyway have fun, I don't yet know how long I wanna make this story. So...hope you're all ready for this journey! :)
> 
> Also, maybe you SHINee fans may get the title ref... ;-;

The cheering of the crowd sounds muffled in Cloud's ears. He disappears underneath the stage, quickly removing his jacket and tossing it to one of the stylists. The main stylist rushes up to him placing a new jacket on him. Another stylist rushes over, whipping the sweat off his head and fixing his makeup.

He breathes heavy, adjusting his headset.

“Next song in 30 seconds!” A producer yells from the other side. Cloud swiftly moves to the other end of the stage, tucking in his shirt into his pants. His heart hasn’t stopped racing all night. He crouches on top of the stage lift, catching his breath. 

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1— "The stage lifts, and Cloud is exposed to the crowd once again. The arena fills with fan chants as the next song starts to play.

Cloud waves at the crowd as he runs through the middle of the stage, closer to his fans. The crowd waves their light sticks synchronously with the music. His dancers meet him in the middle and the performance starts. Cloud eyes the crowd like he’s eyeing a camera, commanding the attention of every single person in the arena. He gracefully executes his choreography as though he hasn’t been tired at all.

The concert is long and grueling, but somehow Cloud is able to persevere all the way through.

“I want to thank you all for coming and supporting me at my first ever concert.” He says adjusting his earpiece, breathing hard. “Did you all have fun?”

The crowd cheers in response.

Cloud waves goodbye to the crowd, “Thank you again! I hope to see you all soon! And be safe getting home alright!”

He descends underneath the stage, the last thing he sees is the sea of light sticks waving goodbye to him.

When the lift hits the ground, Cloud rests there for a few moments before getting up. He crawls from the tight space into the open area of backstage. He is immediately greeted by the team applauding him.

“Why are you applauding me? Couldn’t have done it without any of you.” Cloud says, still trying to catch his breath.

His dancers surround him and give him one big group hug, rocking back and forth. Cloud hides the smirk forming on his face.

“Alright alright, good job you guys.” He says, trying to dissolve the excitedness. However, he fails miserably.

They end up celebrating the whole night.

* * *

Cloud tosses in his bed, sweat forming on his forehead.

“He showed so much potential. Kinda disappointing to see how he turned out.”

_I’m doing my best._

“That’s not good enough!”

_Just…what more do you want from me!_

“You have to do more.”

“You’re not enough.”

“When will you be enough!”

_Please, I—_

_I’m trying…_

* * *

Cloud swivels back and forth in his chair. He's with his manager Reeve, apparently, the president had something to discuss with him.

“As you know, you are scheduled to release a new album at the end of the month. You are to start your recordings later today.” Lazard explains, leaning back in his chair.

Cloud and the producer had already met earlier this month to discuss the lyrics and arrangement.

"After you finish the recordings, you will meet up with the choreographer, then after that, you'll start the photoshoot. From there, we will work on the promotions; so, your performances on Mnet and any variety shows you'll appear on."

Cloud nods, “So I’ll start promoting at the end of the month?”

“Correct.”

“Alright.” Cloud sits back, holding back his sigh. He just finished his tour…

All three of them get up from their seats and Lazard leads them out. Reeve and Lazard exchange a few words before he leads Cloud back to the van.

They walk down the steps and through the lobby. Before they exit the building, a large built man walks by them. Cloud glances over to the man, their eyes meet and it’s almost as though it happens in slow motion. The man is tall and it’s easy to tell he’s sturdily built. His raven black hair is slicked back and spiked behind him, with a few strands hanging in front of his face. Then those blue eyes; they’re not as bright as Cloud’s, rather they’re a darker shade of blue.

They don’t exchange any words and the man walks up the steps. Seems like Lazard is greeting him… Must be someone new.

* * *

“Hello, you are Lazard?” Zack asks, carefully bowing his head.

“Yes, and you must be Zack Fair.” Lazard greets him, motioning him to enter the meeting room.

Zack takes a seat at one of the swivel chairs as Lazard takes the seat across from him. “The contract you’ll be signing is a 2-year contract with us. Do you have any objections?”

“No sir, that is fine with me… But I do have a question.”

Lazard cocks an eyebrow, “Yes?”

“Will I be working with different artists, or am I assigned to one?”

Lazard leans forward, placing his elbows on the table, “Well that depends. We’re planning on having you help shoot one of our idol groups tonight and from there, if your skills are good enough, you will most likely be assigned to one idol.”

Zack hums.

“Would you rather work with multiple artists?”

Honestly, Zack prefers to work with different people because it’s fun meeting new people. However, he doesn’t think now’s a good time to be acting _picky_. Given that he hasn’t been hired for a job in 2 years. “No, it’s alright. I’m sure you’ll put me in a spot that’s fitting.”

Lazard hums in response, “We’re planning on having you help with SNDS’s photoshoot tonight. They’re scheduled to arrive at the studio in an hour.”

“Is it alright if I bring my own camera?”

“Excuse me?”

“Ah, well…I just like using my own camera. More like I work best with it. If you know what I mean.”

“Hm…alright. You photographers are always so picky about interesting things.”

Zack shrugs, “So, I should head down to the studio now?”

“Since it’s your first day here, I’d recommend taking a look around the building and get familiar with your surroundings. You have an hour until they arrive so, that’ll give you plenty of time to look around.”

"Will do," Zack says, getting up from his seat. He shakes hands with Lazard and thanks him for the job before leaving the meeting room.

Zack walks down the steps and back into the lobby. The lobby splits into two different sections—one on the right and one on the left. Zack first ventures to the left side. The café is located on this side; it’s currently closed since it’s late. There is also an elevator that probably leads down to the parking garages. He then walks over to the right side. This is where all the dance and recording studios are located. He peeks through the windows on the doors. Some of the rooms seem to be occupied.

_‘Idols seem to have long workdays’_ he thinks to himself. 

He checks the time on his watch. He should probably start heading over to the studio. Apparently, the photo rooms are located in the building adjacent to the agency. There is a pathway that connects the two. He walks through it and enters the building through the double doors. The building is massive. There are countless box studios located in this one building.

He wanders to the studio room where he is to meet the group. Thankfully, he isn’t the first one there. The crew and other photographers are setting up.

Zack introduces himself to the crew. He sighs in relief when he discovers that everyone is nice. There isn’t anyone overly snobby. Of course, the other photographers are eyeing him, but that’s only because he’s new and they don’t yet know if he’s good or not.

After a couple minutes, the members of the group, SNDS, start to trickle in. The members bow to the crew and say their hellos.

Once the stylist fixes up the girls, he and the rest of the crew can start the shoot. Zack plays around with different lighting effects and dynamic poses. He likes to keep up conversations with the people he’s shooting to help them feel relaxed.

After nearly 2 hours, he feels as though he’s gotten some good shots. The girls head out and he is left to edit the photos. He carefully inspects each photo, deciding on what to tweak. He doesn’t like to photoshop the people he shoots, because he likes to keep the photos more natural rather than something that feels manufactured. He then messes with the colors—raising the saturation or tweaking the contrast and vibrance. He finishes his edits and transfers the files into his hard drive. He stretches his body and gathers his things, placing everything into his backpack.

He steps out of the building a little past midnight and heads over to the outdoor parking lot. He wonders when he'll get the pass to park in the garage. He'd definitely feel more comfortable parking his bike there as opposed to here outside. He sits onto the bike and sends over a text before putting on his helmet. He powers on the engine and the bike purrs. He revs the engine and drives out the parking lot.

* * *

“Yo, Zack! I’ve been wondering when you were gonna show up.” Kunsel says, wrapping his arm around Zack’s shoulder, “Long day?”

"Yeah, sort of. But it was pretty fun." Zack explains as they grab some seats at the bar. They end up ordering chicken and beer.

“So, give me the deets. How was your first day?” Kunsel asks, dipping his chicken in the buffalo sauce.

“Well, I helped with this girl group’s photoshoot. Think it was SNDS.”

“Ohh, they’re pretty popular. Any pretty girls?”

“I mean…sure?”

Kunsel laughs, “You really just take photos don’t you.”

“It’s my job. I’m not judging how _pretty_ the person behind the lens is.”

Kunsel shrugs, “Tell me more. See any other idols?”

"Hm, not really. I think I may have seen another one. But you know, I'm really bad at keeping up with all the groups so, I don't know who's who… But, it does feel like it's pretty hard to be an idol."

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, it seems like they have packed schedules. Like I don’t know for sure, but I think if they’re going in for a photoshoot this late in the day, they probably had a lot more to do earlier.”

Zack averts his eyes to the tv screen. There’s a music video playing. The artist has blonde hair. He thinks he saw him at the agency earlier. Anyway, the video isn’t flashy, but the use of colors is appealing—brings out the color in his eyes.

“Hey, Kunsel. Who’s this artist?” Zack points at the tv.

“Hm? Oh. I think that’s Cloud. He’s been getting pretty popular these days. Pretty sure he’s under the same agency you’re working for.”

“ _Cloud huh_ ”

* * *

Cloud sings into the microphone for the umpteenth time.

“I think I could probably throw in some runs here,” He points to the screen, “Then maybe I could add a bit more emotion here. I think it’ll add more depth to it.”

The producer hums and nods his head, "Sure, let's try that."

The music starts back up in Cloud’s headphones and he channels all his emotions, expressing them to the best of his ability. He runs through the whole song until he finishes the recording. The producer signs off on the final product and Cloud is finally able to go home at 1am.

“Good work.” The producer pats Cloud on the shoulder.

Cloud bows to him and he leaves the studio with Reeve. They get into the van and before starting the car Reeve asks, “Did you want to stop by somewhere to eat?”

Cloud tilts his head back on the headrest, closing his eyes, “No, I’ll just eat something at home.”

Reeve hums and starts the car, driving out of the garage.

“Cloud.”

“Hm?” Cloud hums, slightly annoyed.

“I can request they push back your comeback. If you need to rest, I can explain that to them. I know you just came back from your tour; they’ll understand.”

Cloud scrunches his eyes brows. Of course, Reeve knows exactly how he’s been feeling…

“I—”

_You don’t deserve a break. You need to work harder._

“It’s fine. I can manage.”

Reeve sighs, “You sure, I can really—”

“Reeve—It’s fine.” Cloud cuts, his face contorting into a deep frown.

Reeve stays silent the rest of the drive, noticing Cloud’s mood.

He pulls up to Cloud’s apartment and Cloud steps out of the van yawning.

“You don’t have anything scheduled for tomorrow,” Reeve begins to explain to him, “So, please try and get some rest tomorrow. Now the day after, you’re meeting with the choreographer that morning to practice.”

"Understood," Cloud says, pulling his phone out, checking the time.

“I’m serious Cloud. It’s important you rest tomorrow.” Reeve sounds a bit worried.

“I got it alright. I’ll rest tomorrow.” He says dismissively.

Reeve sighs, “I’ll be here in two days to pick you up in the morning.”

Cloud waves at him as he enters the building through the sliding doors. He rides the elevator up to the 11th floor. This apartment complex wasn’t anything fancy, but it was a nice place that he’s thankfully able to afford because of his job. The elevator dings as the doors open. He steps out and makes his way to the end of the hall. He unlocks the door and steps in, turning on the lights. He kicks off his shoes and places them on the side. He enters the kitchen on the right and opens the fridge. There are a few options to choose from, but Cloud grabs a fruit cup, too lazy to actually make dinner. He plops on the couch and turns on the tv, kicking his feet up on the coffee table.

The variety show 2 days 1 night is on and it seems like it’s featuring the group Everglowing.

"Looks like they've been busy lately," Cloud says to himself. He hasn't spoken to either Tifa or Aerith lately since they’ve all been busy with their schedules. But it’s good to see their group getting the attention they deserve.

He watches them play a few games before shutting off the program. He stretches and heads into the bathroom to get ready for bed. He brushes his teeth and splashes water onto his face. He stares at his reflection in the mirror, wiping his hand along his jawline. He’s lost a little weight. He sighs as he opens the medicine cabinet, popping some supplements into his mouth. He then drags himself into his room and plops onto the bed. He rolls to his side and closes his eyes.

_Are you sure you can handle the pressure? You can just give up…_

The aroma of spices fills the room. Cloud is frying a vegetable omelet for breakfast. In the meantime, his coffee finishes brewing. He places some rice on his plate then gently lays the omelet on top. He grabs his coffee, adding some creamer to it. He then gathers his food and takes a seat at the table.

He scrolls through his SNS as he eats. He looks over the comments on his post. Most of them comment on how good he looks and how they're excited about the concert DVD to come out. It always warms his heart to see such comments. But then he scrolls further down.

_Why do people like him so much? He’s not even that good of a singer._

He sighs and closes the app. He finishes his food and cleans the dishes. He then throws on a pair of track pants and a black t-shirt. He plugs his headphones into his phone and straps his phone onto his arm strap. He leaves his apartment for his morning jog.

He runs his usual route, around the block and through the market. He stops to greet the owner of the fresh noodle stall.

“Ms. Yoon, how are you?”

She stops cutting noodles to look at him, “Oh, Cloud! On your jog?”

“Yeah.”

She giggles, “I’ve been seeing a lot of you on tv lately. I take it you’re doing well.”

He huffs out a chuckle, “Well I’m trying.”

"Well, your hard work is paying off." She pulls something from one of the baskets behind her, "Here for you. For your hard work. And be sure to stay healthy, I worry about you youngins sometimes.”

Cloud looks down and it’s a steamed yam, “Ah, thank you.” He waves at her as he starts to jog off, “I’ll bring something for you next time.” He looks over his shoulder and he can see her waving at him in the distance.

She’s been there longer than he’s lived here. He had first met her when he first started out at the company back when he was 17. She eventually became a mother figure for him. He can’t go out of his way to go see her most of the time, so, he altered his jogging route in a way where he’d be able to swing by and say hello.

He jogs over to the corner store down the street. The door chimes as he walks in. He walks over to the refrigerators against the wall and pulls out a sports drink. He doesn’t typically bring water on his run, since he likes to stop by here and buy a drink every time.

He walks up to the cashier, placing the drink on the table. He can hear giggling behind him. He looks over his shoulder and sees two girls. Looks like he's been recognized. He quickly checks out and jogs out of the store before they start taking pictures. As he jogs around the corner, he accidentally clips someone.

“Oh shoot, I’m sorry.” Cloud quickly apologizes.

“Don’t worry, it’s alright.”

Cloud looks up and squints his eyes. This person looks familiar.

“Oh! It’s you!”

Cloud takes a step back, _‘Shit is he a fan?’_

“We ran into each other at the agency yesterday. I’m Zack.”

“…Ah, um…Cloud. Are you like a new idol?” Cloud asks, a little confused.

Zack quickly waves off that idea, “Oh god no. I don’t have the coordination. I’m a photographer.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm, maybe we’ll work together sometime.” Zack gives him a bright smile. It’s actually quite refreshing. “Anyway, enjoy your jog.” He adds on.

“—Ah,” Cloud notices his athletic gear. Looks like Zack’s on a jog as well, “You too.”

Zack smiles and waves back at him, “Thanks.” Zack disappears into the same corner store Cloud had just came out of.

Cloud turns around and jogs back to his apartment.

* * *

Zack walks into the corner store and wanders through the aisles, grabbing some supplies. He quickly checks out and jogs over to the market. He stops by the fresh noodle stall.

“Hey, Ms. Yoon. I brought the stuff you needed.” Zack says, lifting up the bag.

“Zack, thank you for always doing this.” She smiles at him, grabbing the bag, “Such a sweetheart.” She teases. “So, Zack, anything new?”

“Oh! Yeah, lots happened!” He grabs a seat in front of the stall, “I got the job as a photographer at SE agency. Helped with a photoshoot last night. They're supposed to decide today whether I'm assigned to someone or not."

She hums, “Do you work with the pretty sweet blonde?”

Zack tilts his head, “Who?”

She giggles, “Cloud. He’s in the same agency.”

“Oh! You know him?”

“Yes of course. He’s a sweetheart. He’s basically my son.” She laughs.

He laughs with her, “Well, I don’t work with him right now. But not like it _isn’t_ possible. It’ll probably happen sometime down the line.”

“That would be nice! He’s so nice!” She gushes about him for a while before saying, “You both should come by together for some noodles. I’ll make you both something special.”

Zack chuckles, "Thank you, Ms. Yoon, I'll keep that in mind."

He gets up from his seat and waves goodbye to her before leaving.

He returns to his apartment and quickly takes a shower and gets dressed for work.

He gets to the agency and heads up to the meeting room. Lazard greets him and guides him into the room.

“We were impressed with the photos you submitted. The directors loved your approach and we have decided to assign you to one of our idols.”

Zack nods, taking in all the information.

“Most of our groups already have their lead photographers. So, we will be assigning you to Cloud Strife. He is currently preparing for his comeback, so his photoshoot is scheduled for next week. However, you are free to swing by and introduce yourself. He is scheduled to work on the choreography tomorrow.”

Zack bows and thanks Lazard for the opportunity, “Thank you, I’ll formally introduce myself this week.”

As he’s leaving, he recalls bumping into Cloud. He didn’t really get the chance to talk to him that much, but he seemed nice enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Hellooo~ What you guys think so far? I'm honestly super excited to write this huhu As always, I always appreciate any comments or kudos. Have a wonderful day/night everyone and stay safe! :)


End file.
